Change
by storyspeaker
Summary: Sometimes it's hard to believe change is about to happen - Harry's POV of the events in "Decision" - mention of abuse


**Change**

Don't own Harry Potter and as this is fanfiction I'm gaining no profit for this.

Summary: mentions of abuse - Harry's POV of the events in _Decision_

***

He remembered clearly what had caused his aunt to get out of the house and her marriage to Vernon Dursley.

Dudley and he were nine at the time. They were treated unequally because for whatever reason Vernon had taken a strong dislike to Harry. It was something that he had sometimes wondered on. The reason for the rather robust man's hate for Harry being because he was someone else's child or was it a dislike for one of his parents that caused the man to look down upon the dark haired child?

Later he knew that abusers needed no excuse for why they did what they did. What right did anyone have to hurt another for any reason that didn't involve self-protection or protection of another and even then should hurting someone else ever be an option? Yet as a child he didn't know any of what he knew now from reading articles or cases as an officer of the law, all he had known was that pain, hunger and cramped spaces were his friends for as long as he could remember.

* * *

It had been a rather quiet day not unlike any other day in Little Whinging. Only that the neighbourhood children had decided to play a game that had been invented out of boredom by one of the more bully-ish kids. They didn't play it often but every now and then they had problems coming up with other things to do that they all could agree to.

Harry had been minding his own business with one of the few books he had. That he was allowed to keep, Vernon would get rid of or give his things to Dudley. He had been ignoring the group of boys wandering up and down the street on their bikes. He didn't like some of his cousin's friends and two of the three currently hanging with Dudley were among the worst sort in his opinion.

He adjusted his glasses.

"I know a game we can play."

He would always remember that phrase. That sentence was the beginning of the game that the group had started close to the beginning of the summer.

"That one? But we're close to home," one of the followers said in weak protest.

Harry had stiffened. He closed his book and a quick glance across the street showed them in a pack with Dudley at the front his chubby form drawing his eye the most. He couldn't run into the house, not that day because Vernon was home.

Many of the other residents on the street were gone for the day. Whether that would matter or not was debatable because plenty of the people seemed to follow Vernon's opinion of him. It was like they conveniently forgot that it was his guardians' responsibility to insure he was clothed properly and was healthy. He always got the feeling that they looked down on him for the second hands that he got from Dudley. Clothes that neither his Aunt Petunia nor he could alter to fit even half decently (Vernon's orders).

They were on the move. Fanned out they made it obvious that they weren't going to give him even a small chance of escape. The backyard was fenced off and it could only be opened from the other side. Their neighbour's yard had a fence and hedge around it. He kept his eyes on the group of boys as he considered how he was going to get away.

He knew of one place he goes to where the boys wouldn't dare to try anything. If he could just get to Miss Arabella Figgs' place, he knew he would be safe there. The other kids wouldn't dare go near her house because she was the scary old cat lady of the neighbourhood.

Only he hadn't gotten far at all. He had ended up tripping only a couple houses down and they had been on him. He wasn't sure how long they had been beating on him but it seemed like Aunt Petunia was there real quick.

He hadn't known what to think, but he remembered seeing her determined look as she faced down his cousin. He couldn't help but think that he hoped that she would do the same with Vernon but knew that was unlikely to happen.

Aunt Petunia had surprised him by ordering the kids back to their parents and that she would be having words with them. She had held onto him and Dudley as she had gone back to the house. There she had ordered both of them to pack.

Uncle Vernon had come from the living room and demanded what the fuss was about. Aunt Petunia hadn't answered him right away as she went up to their room to pack her stuff. There had been a lot of one sided yelling as Vernon tried to find out what was going on.

He and Dudley had been sent to wait in the car after they had finished. They had sat there as they saw her in the doorway ready to walk out only to be shocked when she went flying out the door to land in a heap. He didn't even remember getting out of the car to get to her. She hadn't moved for the longest time it had seemed like. When she finally did she had ordered both Dudley and him back to the car.

She had shakily gotten to her feet and got in herself.

Dudley had asked his mum what was going on, but it obvious that she didn't hear him. Yet what shook him was his aunt quietly apologizing and he knew that she didn't know that she was saying anything at all.

They drove away leaving Vernon at 4 Privet Drive. His aunt just seemed to drive. He wasn't certain she had any idea of where to go. There were no more family from the Evans' side. His aunt had no close friends outside of Vernon's circle, so they had nowhere to go and he had been afraid that she would turn back.


End file.
